roadrunner_clams

After the winter of 2013 we had in the northeast U. S. I have found myself wanting to return to owning an SUV. I had been driving an SUV for 7 years up until last November when I opted into a new Kia Cadenza sedan. I love all the bells and whistels that came with that car, the large touch screen nav, heat and vented seats, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and heated steering wheel. I know the Audi Q5 2.0 Prem Plus I am looking at will be a step backward for me on some of these features, but I miss the driving position and AWD of the SUV.
My main concerns about buying the Q5 are the MMI interface and how difficult and limited it may be in it's operation along with the reliability of the Q5 in general. The only other experience I had with a German SUV was a two year lease I had on an X3 and I couldn't wait to give it back to BMW because of a transmission that was always hunting for the right gear on any incline, and a nav screen which my tv from the 60's had a better display of.
I would love to hear any opinions you might have on either of those two concerns. Also, I am thinking about getting the sport interior package but I have yet to see it in person. It comes with a black head liner that I am thinking may make the car very dark on the inside since I want the chestnut brown interior with the black exterior? Thanks for any input.

ex-quattro PETE

Not sure about the trans. It is an 8-speed trans, so there will be quite a bit of gear shifting, but it all depends on the programming.

As for the nav screen, it's not overly big, but the image quality is pretty good, IMO. Now, I did see some people complain that the nav system is kind of slow to respond. It certainly does take its time to process a destination address after you have spoken it. Is it a deal breaker? Only you can decide - go test drive one and play with it.

The main reason we ordered ours with the sport pkg was for the seats - better side bolsters, which hug you more and prevent you from sliding around. The second reason was that you get a different steering wheel with paddle shifters.

Why don't you just get an Acura or a Lexus then?

Current Q5 is in its last year of production, so most of the bugs should have been ironed out, but statistically, the Japanese makes are still more reliable. They are more boring, too.

How long are you planning to keep it?

roadrunner_clams

Thanks for the comments. I usually turn a car every three years, but I am getting close to retirement age so this next purchase of the Q5 may be kept longer. I agree the Japanese make a more reliable but boring product. I just don't want to break down on the road or be troubled with taking the car in often for repair even if it is under warranty. As you say the bugs should be worked out of this generation vehicle by now. I am leaning toward getting it because I think that it is one of the best looking SUVs on the road and ride quality is also rated as one of the best.

uberwgn

We were going to get a Q5 with the Sport Pkg but not after my wife learned it had a black headliner. That was an instant non-starter.

I can promise you that if the modern-day Audi was problematic in any way, there'd be 0 Audis parked in my garage. And our local dealership has really been very good.

Welcome aboard, Clams !!

Dalancroft

We're on our fourth Audi:

1) 1998.5 A4 (the .5 is important because that came with the 30-valve V6) -- sold
2) 1999 A6 Avant (wagon), same engine -- rear-ended and totaled
3) 2005 S4 Cabriolet -- traded in for my wife's 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera S cab
4) 2011 Q5 2.0T Premium+ -- my daily driver and I love it

No more repairs than you'd expect from any other manufacturer, although maintenance is somewhat more expensive than Japanese or Korean makes. Test drive a Q and I think you'll agree it is sporty, smooth, fun to drive, and built extremely well. Let us know what you decide!

ktouchlive

I have the 2014 3.0T, so it maybe different than 2.0T, but shouldn't be by much. The 8 speed transmission so far is verily smooth and shifting at the right time. Yes, you will lose some of the techs, but are they really necessary?

As for Navi, I came from the Acura touch-screen system on the TSX. Even though I think the touch-screen system was quicker to enter addresses, however, the MMI with voice entry does make up for the time. The general layout of the MMI is quite simple and the graphics are up to today's standard. Heck, you can even watch DVD when car is stopped.

I opted for the S-Line sports package mainly for the better seats that hugs you better like PETE mentioned. Does make a huge difference. You also get a flat bottom steering wheel (fatter and better grip than standard),bigger wheels, cosmetic changes, and black headliner. Whether you like black headliner or not, is your own preference.

I came from an Acura and my Acura served me really well throughout the years in terms of reliability. However, I always thought the Acura never had the excitement that I wanted, but the Audi gives me that. Hopefully this generation of Q5 will serve me well because I tend to keep it for a long period of time. So far, so good. I did do some research prior to purchasing it, the Q5 had better records compared to the current X3 or GLK.

Hope that helps.

ssteigss

I have the chestnut interior with black headliner. With the pano roof it does not seem dark. The cabin is very nice. I've had my 13' Q for almost 2 yrs,38k miles. I have had no problems other than the transmission downshifting roughly. Audi updated the programming but it still does it. Other than that its the best, most solid car I ever had. I would buy another tmrw!

imdakine1

I got a 2014 q5 TDI and love it. I surprisingly like the nav. I like the send to car feature from the audi connect app or google maps!

I had a 2002 audi a4 1.8 cvt and unfortunately the cvt have out after a year and 12,000 miles. Needless to say they gave a new cvt transmission and it was fine until I sold it with 88k. I went to a 206 outback xt and love it. The 250 hp turbo was nice and the AWD was great! Just fit into the 2014 TDI and it is amaZing the gas mileage is fantastic.

Although the q5 style is changing in 2016, I'm pleased with the 2014 & 2015 styling and believe the kinks have been worked out. I typically like to keep cars for 6 years or 100,000 - 125,000 miles etc...

SQive

I bought the 2014 SQ5 and really love it! For me, it's the perfect combination of Sport Sedan and SUV. It doesn't sit too low like a sedan, or too high, like most SUV's. It's handling is flat and tight. This thing is capable of very good gas mileage, but damned if I can keep my foot out of it. Of course, those of us who got the SQ measure it in smiles-per-gallon and in that aspect, it gets great smileage!

imdakine1

I have the sports interior as it had lumber support for the passenger side and does hug a bit better. I don't use the paddle shifters that much but if I get more used to it I might begin using it more etc...

What does black headliner mean?